1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods, products, systems and devices for acquisition and processing of patient-related data, such as test and measurement results and/or other clinical data.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Within the field of clinical analysis, a wide variety of electronic devices are known for the acquisition and registration of patient-related data. In particular, devices allow clinical personnel to acquire test and/or measurement results related to a given patient at a point of care. Such electronic devices include devices for performing various forms of clinical tests and/or analysis, such as the measurement of physiological parameters of a patient.
In modern clinical environments, such electronic devices are widely used, and tests are increasingly being moved from a central laboratory to the actual point of care (POC). Even though this trend has a number of advantages, it also involves a number of challenges.
For example, the operational environment in which POC electronic devices are operated is less controllable than the environment of a central laboratory, e.g., in terms of controlling the personnel operating the devices. Furthermore, any electronic device may be operated by a number of different operators during the course of a day.
The data acquired by an electronic device often needs to be transferred to and recorded by a central data processing system, e.g., a server system implementing a patient database. It is desirable that this transfer is performable securely, reliably and efficiently.
Because electronic devices are frequently used for acquiring data relating to different patients, it is desirable to reduce the risk of patient mix-up and to ensure that correct data is registered in a patient database.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,144 discloses a system for monitoring and reporting medical information of patients suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes or asthma. This prior art system includes a stand-alone monitor for storing data records comprising measured values and time stamps and for transmitting the records to a remote reporting unit. The remote reporting unit includes a relational database that comprises patient records each including a unique ID code pairing a patient and a remote sensor. The database is updated when records are downloaded and it allows the generation of chronological reports of status information of a physiological characteristic. Hence, even though this prior art system allows the remote collection of data from a monitoring device used by an individual patient in the course of long-term management of a chronic disease, it remains a problem to reliably record patient-related data in a hospital or other healthcare facility where multiple electronic devices are frequently used by different operators and to obtain data related to different patients.
US 2003/0065653 discloses a system for storing and retrieving medical records. According to this system, when a medical device is first used on the system, its own identification (manufacturer, and device ID number) is automatically registered with the system. A patient receives an ID number, the first time the patient receives an ECG or is x-rayed by equipment that is registered with this prior art system. Thus, the first time a patient is examined via medical equipment of this system, a universal record of not only the equipment, but also the patient is automatically created. The patient is provided with a patient identification card, and from that point on, the patient identification card is “registered” within the system. Even though this system allows for a central registration of patients and medical devices, it requires the individual medical devices to be adapted for use with the system.
However, in many clinical environments, there is a large variety of types of electronic devices with varying capabilities, e.g., in terms of data management, processing power, etc. At the same time, it is desirable to keep the requirements imposed on the capabilities of electronic devices limited so as to be able to manufacture them at a reasonable cost.
Generally it is desirable to ensure the quality of the acquired data, and to be able to verify compliance with operating procedures at the clinic at which the electronic devices are operated.